And With A Single Beat
by Hakuei Shirei
Summary: —of a Butterfly's Wings, it all changed. Kagami Hoshika is an orphan. She doesn't particularly care about gender, and she's about as average as one can be considering her situation. Or, she would be if not for the odd dreams that might be due to some kind of bloodline limit —possibly even a mutated one— because she's pretty sure she's not supposed to see other worlds in her dreams.
1. It Begins (Arc 0, Part I)

**Author's Note** : Copy-Pasta'd notes from AO3. As usual, cross-posted from AO3 with alterations made to fit site formatting, etc.

The summary is, unfortunately, too long, so I have to do some rearranging to make everything fit. End notes can be skipped, if you don't care to know about that sort of thing, but the first chapter will always have the longest set of notes with very few exceptions. (More info can also be found in Scraps or on AO3.)

 **Title** : And With A Single Beat

 **Story Summary** :"—of a Butterfly's Wings, everything changed. Kagami Hoshika is an orphan. She doesn't particularly care about gender, and she's about as average as one could be considering her situation. Or, well, she would be if not for the strange dreams she thinks might be due to some kind of Kekkei Genkai —or maybe a mutated bloodline ability— because she's pretty sure she's not supposed to be seeing alternate worlds in her sleep."

 **Alternate** **Summary** : "Kagami Hoshika is an orphan, one that prefers not to draw attention to herself if she can help it. All she wants is to graduate, earn some money, and then maybe buy some land to live a peaceful, quiet retirement on by herself. Maybe learn some agriculture so she can be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately, the Hokage's daughter's like a limpet that just attached herself one day and simply wouldn't let go. And her —apparently popular even at a young age— Uchiha Tag Along-slash-Best Friend/Possibly-Future-Boyfriend just draws even more attention to their little group. Which is kind of not good because she thinks she's getting attached to them, too."

 **Tags** : Alternate Universe; Canon Divergence; Somewhat Slow Build; Naruto has a Big Sister; Itachi gets a different team; Technically Itachi/Naruko; Two Reoccuring/Main OCs; Pseudo-SI/OC; Sort of Fix-It; Kekkei Genkai/Bloodline Mutations; Sharingan/Doujutsu Mutation OC; A bit more character-centric than world build, really; Divergence actually begins around the Kannabi Bridge Arc; Major Branching AU; some world-building; Part of the "Reflections of Fate" or RoF!Verse;

 **Characters** : Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Hatake Kakashi, [redacted for spoilers], OC (Uzumaki Kizuna), SI/OC (Kagami Hoshika), Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Mikoto,

 **Warnings** : This is _not_ an actual reincarnation fic, despite the pseudo-SI/OC-insert; Slowbuild; Major Canon Divergences (especially at certain points); Naruto's older sister is basically Naruko with a different name; Pre-Kyuubi/Naruto but Post-Kannabi, etc.

In any case, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 01: And With A Single Beat, It Begins...  
** aka: Arc 0 — Setting the Story, Part I (or: A Blonde, A Raven, And a Brunette...)

* * *

The day had started out like any other. Or, well, at least as far as it did in Konohagakure, anyways. The sun was shining, the ninja were ninja-ing, and the civilian folk were getting ready to greet the new day as usual.

Or, well, they had until Konoha's (infamously) nicknamed Bloody Red Habanero started yelling loudly enough that anyone within the village —oh, say...about a ten, no, twenty mile radius?— could hear.

"NAMIKAZE MINATO—! IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW, I'M GOING TO DISMEMBER A VERY. IMPORTANT. PART. OF YOUR PRETTY BOY BODY BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SCREAM, YOU COWARDLY BASTARD!"

Ninja and civilian alike paused in their day to day dealings, looking towards the source of the yell, before returning to their everyday bustle. Many of villagers winced in sympathy, wondering just what their poor leader had done to piss his wife off so badly, but still hoping that said woman didn't actually mean what they thought she meant.

(Several of the men, ninja who had once gone to school with said firecracker, immediately paled as they recalled events long past. A few even had flashbacks, a sudden if immense foreboding warning them to stay clear away from the pregnant and hormonal redhead. Something they did without a second thought, instincts screaming at them to get away. Even if it meant running like dogs with their tails tucked in until the woman's blatant blood-lust simmered down enough to stop inducing flashbacks.)

The infamous streak of yellow flashing by attracted some attention, but, that too, was quickly ignored.

(No one wanted to be on the other end of a pissed off and pregnant bloody habanero.)

Some even thought it was a figment of their imagination, as the S-Ranked threat to Iwa that had all but singlehandedly ended the Shinobi War...—pulled all stops to run away from his red-headed Uzumaki wife's rage.

Like a coward. (Then again, his wife was just as infamous, if not more so. If only for her explosive temper and a grudge she would gladly pay back seven-fold...at the very least.)

Back in the Hokage Tower, amongst a whirlwind of paperwork that had been left behind from his...retreat...one of the Yondaime's two remaining students winced in sympathy. Especially when said runaway Hokage immediately showed up again wearing a panicked look, cramming himself under his paperwork-laden desk just in time to avoid being spotted by an angry red-haired woman. One that had just shunshin'd into the room, the door slamming behind her as she growled. A practically visible cloak of ire hanging about her, the infamous Uzumaki locks created an illusion of bloody red tendrils waving in her ki.

Not spotting her target, she scowled.

"Kakashi, sweetie, have you seen Minato…?" She asked, a saccharine tone that threatened a bloody, painful murder if she didn't get an answer. The silver-haired, single-eyed young ninja just stared at her with wide eyes, vigorously shaking his head in response as he shot a mental prayer to the heavens.

Sweat beaded on both his, and his teacher's, back as they tried not to get the blonde maimed. Kushina-san would calm down eventually (or break into frustrated tears) when she didn't find him... —And hopefully not actually be angry enough to pull off her threat.

(They kind of still needed their Hokage, after all.)

(Said Hokage, however, continued to hold his breath, heart beating frantically as he prayed the chakra and presence suppressing seals he'd feverishly created —especially after the last time her hormones had tipped her into 'raging bull with no care of or for consequences' mode...otherwise known as the Uzumaki Berserker Mode— for this very reason.)

Kushina just gave an irritated sigh, giving the silver haired scarecrow a sharp nod before stepping out. A half-stomp and half-shunshin that should have been impossible following herself and the deadly ki that saturated the air around her as she left.

Kakashi just released the breath he'd been holding, an exhalation shared by all three of the remaining members in the room.

"I...should probably make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Rin sighed, clearly anxious if the nervous way she was acting was any indication. Kushina was still pregnant after all (even if many didn't know about that part just yet).

Minato, having crawled out from under the woodwork (and quite literally), just nodded wearily.

"Please," he agreed, shooting the brunette an apologetic look as she wilted. Medic-Nin in training or not (Obito's death had left a mark on more than just her silver-haired teammate if the dedication she'd put to learning the healing arts was any clue), Kushina was still a very scary woman...let alone a kunoichi. But unfortunately, the rest of the hospital staff —and those in the know, at that— would no doubt be too afraid to risk Kushina-sama's wrath.

Which left only the healer of her husband's team to trail after her.

Kakashi didn't even bother to look at Minato, just grimacing as reassuringly as he could to Rin. "I don't think she'll do more than snap at you at worst," he offered awkwardly. He'd at least tried to talk to his remaining teammate after Obito's death, but…

Well, it wasn't as if the genius had ever been any good at socializing. He'd yet to start forming habits similar to Obito's, what with Minato and Rin still there to anchor him, but...

Minato-sensei's smile was definitely a lot more reassuring, Rin thought, not even blushing despite the fact that her one-time crush (one that had started dying the moment Obito's life had) had deemed to even try to comfort her. Of course, said smile by the blue-eyed man was also tired, but as he wiped a hand over his face, she just nodded.

"I'll do my best then." Still somewhat apprehensive, but not wanting to risk Kushina-sama's health just because she was a bit leery, she nodded to Kakashi and her sensei before leaving from an open window.

If what she'd caught of her mutterings as she'd left earlier were true, the woman had likely either gone to the main Uchiha Compound to enlist her best friend, or had gone husband-hunting around the training grounds.

Minato just sighed wryly, his "thanks," barely slipping out fast enough for the kunoichi to catch as she shot off, dashing over rooftops in the direction she could sense her Sensei's spouse.

(Minato was very, very lucky that Kushina had too much chakra to do 'delicate' work...including pinpoint chakra sensing, though that unfortunately came with the downside of not being able to use iryojutsu...even if her Uzumaki vitality allowed her to heal a little quicker than most could, anyway.)

Collapsing into his seat, he let himself fall back against the surprisingly cushy chair before giving his student a grin. "Thanks for not ratting me out," he said, only half jokingly as he tried to remember exactly what it was that had set her off. (A bit harder to do with pregnancy hormones wreaking even more havoc, but Minato wasn't a genius for nothing... He'd figure it out soon...or someone would tell him.)

Kakashi simply shrugged, deadpanning. "Better than having to convict the Hokage's wife for committing Mariticide," tone flat yet somehow conveying a slight, if morbid, sense of humor. "...What exactly did you do to set her off, anyway?" he asked, his idle tone doing nothing to his feelings. Not from his sensei, anyway.

Luckily for the both of them, Minato had run through all the things he'd done before managing to figure out what it was he could have possibly done to piss her off so bad.

"...I think I might've eaten the last of that dango she was saving from Tea Country," he mused sheepishly. Though in his defense, he'd been tired and hadn't even realized what he'd been eating until now. Dango pretty much all looked and tasted the same to him (though there was probably at least one other kunoichi that would murder him if he said so loud...along with a certain academy student). Of course, Kushina probably wouldn't care about that, even if there hadn't really been much else he could eat on the go in the fridge.

He probably should've just bought something on the way to work instead, no matter how hungry and exhausted he'd been.

Kakashi winced.

"Ah," was his only response. His lack of admonishment and nonverbal sympathy —Maybe his wayward and anti-social student was finally learning how to socialize like a normal person!— something that Minato could only be grateful for as they lapsed into a semi-comfortable silence. One in which Minato would pretend that he had not just hidden within the emergency seals under his own desk just to get away from his wife.

Nope, not at all. Nuh-uh, don't know what any of you could be talking about.

After a while, though, Kakashi spoke up again, clearly dubious if concerned about something.

"...Still…"

"Yes, Kakashi…?" curious about what his student might still have to say after such a long silence (in which he'd started doing paperwork again), he looked up.

"...Is it really smart to let her simmer like that, Sensei…?"

Minato nearly faulted.

On second thought…

* * *

Elsewhere, not too far from the Tower on Academy grounds, three kids paused in their training as a certain redhead's rage-filled threat echoed through the town.

All three were young for their placement, but that hadn't stopped any of them from doing their best and excelling in their learning. They were all considered prodigies in some way or another, after all. Even if it was different kinds of 'prodigious'.

Of the trio of children, the one that stood out the most was definitely the adorable if energetic —and somewhat quirky— strawberry (or rather, blonde with the occasional strand of bloody red) blonde with twintails.

Dressed in maneuverable short-shorts (or, perhaps technically short skorts, considering the skirt-like portion of it), a matching tracksuit jacket that ended midriff, and a bright red shirt underneath, perhaps the only impractical part of it...was the fact that said jacket and sports skorts were in the difficult to wash color of...white.

Of course, all three of the children wore the standard shinobi sandals over bandage wrapped feet. Especially considering their footwear had been purchased in a slightly larger size just to 'be on the safe side' considering the fact that they were still very much growing children.

They did, however, sport different color schemes. The blonde, having chosen mostly red and white clothing with the occasional blue (navy, to be exact), such as sandals, hair ties, and basically any non-metal ninja accessories. Across from said blonde was a slightly older boy with long black hair. He, too, kept to a simple color scheme —mostly of black and white, with a familiar black high-collared shirt and white shorts that fell to his knees; straight, mid-length black hair tied into a short ponytail at his nape.

Said boy was frowning, as the duo paused in the midst of exchanging strikes in their practice spar.

"...Was that…?" he started, calm countenance marred only by the slight downward tilt of his lips as they all stared in the direction of the scream, before exchanging looks.

The blonde nodded knowingly, "Yeah. I think Mom found out that Dad finished her Tea Country Dango." Pausing, she seemed to contemplate something, tilting her head to the side for a bit before tacking on, "Again."

The third of their trio, a child with short, chocolate hair ending at the nape (ironically, the most boyish looking, considering Itachi's longer hair and porcelain face, though the three were all somewhat slimmer than the average civilian child due to their shinobi training) expelled a huff-like breath.

"Of course he did," the girl mused, tomboyish appearance belying their otherwise Aburame or even Nara-like countenance (pity she wasn't actually related to either of those clans. At least, not directly, or else she wouldn't have been stuck at the orphanage as long as she had). "You'd think Yondaime-sama would have learned by now, wouldn't you?" A slight twitch of the lip was the only obvious sign of amusement despite her drawling tone.

Kagami Hoshika was an orphan, but that didn't seem to truly bother her. Of the group, she was also the eldest, though she didn't lose to the others in intellect, at least.

(Or rather, she worked hard enough to make up for it, anyway. Not like she really minded reading, after all. And with both parents having been of shinobi descent, she had a good sized pool of chakra, despite the fact it wasn't nearly the size of her compatriots'. That was fine, though. It just meant better chakra control, though she did take care to practice enough to try expand her otherwise limited pool at a nice rate. )

Perhaps that was why the three had all but been grouped together. Despite how unorthodox it was, it was very likely the three would end up on a team. Partially to keep the rest of the teams balanced, while putting like with like to avoid the potential disaster of putting 'prodigies' (though Itachi and Hoshika both seemed to hate the word, unlike their Uzumaki/Namikaze friend who simply took it in stride. She wasn't bothered by what 'most people' tended to think, after all) on a team with others that could very well resent them.

(Well, that, and as Hokage, if Minato chose to give preference to his daughter's wishes, then it was entirely in his right to do so...even if it was only mainly in part due to his wife's insistence.)

Itachi chuckled in response, even while their blonde companion grinned.

"Yeah, you would think," she agreed. "Especially considering that dad's the freaking Hokage," she half-joked, a grin on her face as she folded her arms behind her head with a sigh. "He is supposed to be the best ninja the village has to offer, after all~"

The others could only nod in agreement. Grey, Black, and Aquamarine orbs exchanging amused looks as their lips tilted again in amusement.

"Indeed true, Kizuna-kun," Itachi agreed. His words accompanied by a musing hum, as childish hands stuffed themselves into the pockets of a somewhat over-sized, if comfy, open zip-up hoodie. One worn over a dark, sleeveless turtleneck and drab, olive grey cargo's. (Needless to say, she definitely looked to most boyish of the three.)

Itachi's use of the '-kun' suffix for close friends (in part due to Kizuna all but throwing a tantrum over the boy being so 'formal' considering how close they were...along with the fact that she apparently had some sort of grudge with...someone —a certain toad-summoning pervert hermit— that had made her dislike the use of '-chan' in conjunction with her name… Something that apparently made her react 'very much like a certain "bloody habanero" ' as apparently was muttered by often shuddering adults), always seemed to amuse her.

The girl's threat of a 'painful, bloody death' to those that dared to use it after being warned the first day of school (with few exceptions), had drawn all sorts of consternation until she'd actually beaten a kid up (thankfully during sparring class, though the Chuunin-sensei had had to drag her off the victim by the end). The only ones who could apparently get away with using the suffix were close and/or immediate family (except, again, a certain unfortunate teacher of her dear, doting daddy, that was).

Mostly because it wasn't like she could get away with or make her parents do anything they didn't want to. (And also, the threat of —gasp— ramen reduction! It was seriously, way too horrifying and cruel a punishment for the girl to dare even bring it up. Especially after seeing the smile on her mother's face.) Just the thought was enough to make her shudder, and not just because of the consequences.

("I carried you inside me for over nine months, sweetheart." A razor wire grin. "I brought you into this world, so I can call you whatever the hell I want to, dattebane—!" "...What your mother said," her father had added apologetically. It was clear who wore the real pants in the family...or rather, daddy was just whipped when it came to her mom, she'd realized.)

Needless to say, having watched Itachi flounder until he got used to calling her '-kun' (though ironically, she didn't think the other girl would actually mind being called 'Kizuna-chan' by the two of them if they really wanted to, considering how close they were now), had been absolutely hilarious.

Kizuna —like her mother...and even at times her father, ironically enough— had the tendency to somehow, some way, manage to get what she wanted (for the most part, anyways). Her determination, will, and ability to simply bulldoze her way out of —and at times, into— situations had been both absolutely amusing as well as exasperating to the girl who'd found herself assimilated into the now-trio within days of the (slightly) younger duo joining her class.

After all, she had been one of the few who hadn't actually minded, or rather, had probably been the only one uncaring enough to not bother 'sucking up' to the two children of affluential families (the Hokage's daughter, and the next Uchiha heir. As in, the next to become head of one of the major and founding clans of the village. Both were high profile enough as it was), let alone having child geniuses in her class —though she technically, apparently, counted as one herself, even if she hadn't decided to skip the year as they had…

If only because her 'civilian', or rather, orphanage, upbringing had excluded her from some of the shinobi tricks and learning that they covered in the classes. There were several people who had thought she might have Nara blood, though her hospital records proved otherwise...though it was possible that it was simply diluted enough that it no longer registered. And the clan she did technically have relations to —if diluted by the rest of her blood line— wasn't exactly been fond of 'outsiders', and with how diluted her blood was to that clan and the fact she didn't have their kekkei genkai, she'd have just been a pariah for most there anyways. If they even deemed to accept her as one of them, so she was really better off where she was now.

Either way, she'd been polite and relatively friendly, helped answer any questions (that she could, anyways), hadn't tried to brown nose, and had treated them like anyone else. Which had apparently been enough for the blonde to 'take a shine' to her and all but demand that she 'be her friend now, too!'

(Itachi's look of constipation had been just as equally hilarious as his struggle not to be 'overly polite', to be honest. Though, at that point, he and Kizuna —despite having been playmates and knowing each other for years— apparently hadn't known the other so well despite being friends. Something about their mothers being friends, but Itachi being too polite and a stick in the mud until the other girl had finally exploded and pretty much forced him to call her '-kun'...on top of ironically fitting yet clashing personalities.)

(Not to mention Kizuna's form of 'positive reinforcement' being a certain hard jab to the side whenever the boy had shown even the slightest sign of calling her '-san'. Needless to say, being the genius that he was, Itachi learned —very quickly— not to be so formal with the blonde, though had still occasionally slipped despite his best efforts.

(The blonde's conditioning had worked, though. Her Uzumaki Vitality apparently also making her stronger than the average kid even without the chakra enhancement...of which she had in spades to pull on if she even wanted to consider it.)

Of course, catching sight of the girl's amusement, Kizuna pouted. "Geez, Ho-shi-ka~!" she huffed, only half whining at the (entirely) unrepentant look on her friend's face.

Holding back a smirk, she gave the other a mild look, raising a single brow as her (only) female friend grumbled.

"Yes, Kizuna?" Waiting for the other to say something, she let the smirk twitch into place when other simply proceeded to huff and sulk even more.

"...Nothin'..." she muttered, barely resisting the use of what was apparently an inherited verbal tick (mom always got upset, so she'd made herself learn to internalize it instead...not that it always worked) as she shot her other best friend a look.

Hoshika just tried not to snicker, seeing Itachi's own look of amusement before getting a devious idea.

"Alright, alright. I'll buy you one bowl of ramen if you can beat Uchiha," she teased, sincere in her promise as she inwardly snickered at Itachi's suddenly dour look. Kizuna, on the other hand, had done a one-eighty, expression excited as she straightened, practically bouncing in place she was so ready!

"Yatta~! Ramen!" She grinned. Not surprising considering that bother of her parents were pretty much ramen addicts as well. So the fact that the blonde had inherited that love for the food was all but expected, though it still amazed her how much the other could put away considering her size. She wasn't quite petite —not compared to how, ironically, slender Itachi was— though she was shorter than both Hoshika and Itachi. Her form, quite ironically, similar to her father's considering how girly he had apparently been as a child.

"But make it two!" Kizuna exclaimed brightly, throwing herself into the spar, "Ichiraku Ramen, of course!"

Not surprising considering how much she could put away, though she was still being understanding of the fact that Hoshika didn't really get too much on the orphan's stipend she got from signing up for —and continuing at— the Academy.

Of course, she did get a slightly higher stipend thanks to keep up with her grades —the Fourth had altered the law, so that the kids would have the incentive to work harder. Especially since he knew how it felt, having been an orphan, himself, genius or not— along with the apartment than all the Academy Orphans got when they signed up.

It would only be until she graduated, after which she'd have a month or two before her financial aid was cut off. Then she had to either earn enough for her own place or rank up to Chuunin as quickly as possible, after which she'd definitely have more income.

Not to mention that certain apartments and real estate businesses offered discounts for Active and/or Retired Shinobi.

Of course, Hoshika had her own plans —or maybe a dream...no, a goal?

She wanted to earn enough to buy her own plot of land. One that she could, preferably, live off of and be self-sufficient with for the most part.

Buying land would, as expected, be rather expensive. And it wasn't like one could just sign up to become a clan with only one member (being the last of a clan was different from making a clan of one, after all). Though there were perks to having a bloodline and starting a clan, there were also some rather rigid standards for the very same reason.

And for one that was as useless as hers? Well, for one, she didn't really feel comfortable with becoming what would basically amount to either being breeding stock or experimental bloodline breeding (there were so, so many ways that could possibly go wrong...not to mention that, as someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet the thought of having sex and/or making babies was possibly the absolute farthest thought from anything she might even consider doing).

She'd read books, ones that explained the danger as well as how very many different ways things could go wrong.

Besides, her bloodline was useless anyways, so she didn't think it'd really matter. (Boosted brain development as a side effect, aside. Which, y'know, the Nara already kinda had.)

"Okay, but only if you win," Hoshika said after a while, shaking herself from distraction as she watched the Uchiha internally curse (the three knew each other well enough to be able tell by this point) with amusement. She had saved up enough to be able a splurge a little, so getting four bowls of ramen wouldn't be too much of an issue.

—Of course, the extra two bowls being for Itachi and herself. A peace-offering, as it were. Itachi was beyond picky when it came to his favorite sweets, so she wouldn't bother trying to find something he'd like, considering how often his cravings for sweets changed. (Dango seemed to be his favorite, but there was apparently a specific place that he exclusively purchased from, and they had yet to visit as a group, so she wouldn't know where it was anyway.)

Besides, it would just be rude of her not to at least offer, considering she had just set the most physically inclined of the group after him. And no doubt the other would be accompanying them for the meal, anyway, just as he always did. Though, that did give a rather amusing idea...possibly a way to make things even, or else pacify the Uchiha heir, anyway.

Dango as a prize would definitely give him at least some motivation to try to beat their blonde friend.

Hoshika, herself, wasn't so fond of sweets even if she had a fondness for tea, so she'd be rooting for Kizuna, though. Not that she would mind either way, since it was more for fun than anything. She wasn't particularly picky, and being an orphan, she just wasn't quite used to junk food or strongly flavored things. Especially when sugar wasn't exactly a necessity, and was more something to indulge in.

It didn't particularly do much, aside from a slight rush, after all. (And yeah, brain sugar, but fruit were healthier and could do the exact same thing...some veggies, as well.)

Still, she didn't really care about what or where they dined as long as it was within her budget. Healthy and at least somewhat balanced food was a preference, of course, but tea houses should have options other than just sweets...right?

Though, even if it weren't the case, she supposed indulging every once in a while wasn't a bad thing, either.

Regardless, she simply enjoyed the friendly company. Social eating wasn't so bad, considering that at least two meals a day were usually spend alone in the solitude of her minimally furnished apartment.

Honestly, the room with the most things in it would probably be the kitchen, where all the foodstuff was kept. Body wash and hair care in the bathroom, and maybe a writing desk and a futon in her room.

There was also technically a living room area, but aside from a carpet...well, it wasn't really meant for guests, though she had managed to find a shelf. There was a potted plant and a few books on it, but that was it. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said the kitchen was the most furnished.

Some attempts at (edible) horticulture, some stools for the kitchen counter, and a set of dishes and utensils outside of groceries, a rice cooker, and the minimal necessities for cooking. She was typically as frugal as she could be, with few exceptions. Possibly the only potential 'waste' was the horticulture, since it did take some trial and error before she figured out how to grow them properly, and herbs and seasonings were a bit more on the expensive side. (It took time and water to grow, too, though there was some natural lighting to help, at least.)

Probably why she tended to use them sparingly, if she could. Food didn't need to be heavily seasoned to taste good, anyway.

Still, considering that she was living alone in a single bed-and-bath apartment with a storage (or den, whatever you wanted to call it), and an open space that served as a sitting area —if she actually had something other than cushions to sit on, or had a coffee table, anyway— she liked to think she was doing pretty well.

The Shinobi supplies were relatively inexpensive (discounted, thanks to orphan welfare), and the Academy provided most of the texts along with some of the practice supplies —though those had to be returned within a certain time frame, of course. Sort of like a library and checking things out, in a way.

Most of the Academy students preferred to have their own sets, though, considering how used the Academy's were. And they did all get a set of blunt kunai, even if wasn't very many.

(Around eight or ten per set, kunai and shuriken-wise. Basically, you either got eight kunai and ten shuriken, or vice versa. Personally, she'd gotten the eight and ten set, rather than the ten and eight, since shuriken were a bit more difficult to use and she needed more practice with. There were different kinds of kunai, so she could borrow an Academy set, but shuriken only had one shape, though the kit each orphan got only had the standard, and they'd have to either buy actual kunai later anyway, or take the time to try to sharpen the blunt weapons into something other than a blunt projectile. Shuriken, however, were meant more for distractions, so being blunt didn't particularly matter, unless you were really, really accurate with your projectiles. Most people didn't use them anyways, because they were so finicky to handle. Though, they were a good precursor to Fuuma Shuriken, which...didn't really work the same, aside from working on a similar trajectory.)

Either way, it didn't really matter. The fact was, that, though somewhat troublesome, as long as she kept to her budget and kept her grades up (which basically mostly meant extra training and studying or doing homework on her own time), there were really more perks than downsides to her situation as it was.

Even if she was an orphan, she at least knew she had ninja parents —not uncommon, honestly speaking. It wasn't the norm, per say, but at least three out of ten orphans had ninja lineage, so there was that. And there was nothing saying a civilian couldn't work up to being a ninja, even if meant working double —or even triply— as hard as those with shinobi genes, considering that they tended to have larger chakra pools compared to civilians who, well, didn't use it, and so didn't.

Still, it was possible to train and expand one's chakra enough to at least survive, maybe even thrive, as a ninja if one worked hard at it. The Academy started early for a reason, after all. Children were the best at learning and adapting, which included chakra coils and pool increase. It was only once they were past a certain age that that window of optimal learning and expansion would end, making it even harder to do so. It was just how the human body worked, after all.

It was why civilians tended to stagnate, chakra pool wise, and why the Academy only accepted children within a certain age range. But that was something to discuss for another time.

For now, she had a match to watch and friend to cheer (and possibly goad) on.

She had a feeling that Kizuna would still win, though. If only out of brute force and determination. Itachi was really too gentle to want to hurt anyone, so ended up holding back. Even if it sometimes meant being beaten by the human projectile named Uzumaki-Namikaze Kizuna. Especially when it was determined Kizuna, she mused, wincing slightly as Itachi had the breath, quite literally, knocked out of him. Laying on the ground for a few moments before raising an arm and announcing his forfeit.

(She'd really have to make it up to him, then. Even if it was just with a bowl of ramen, rather than his beloved Dango.)

* * *

 **Ending Notes** : (Starting Notes from AO3) I was heading back after some testing when I suddenly remembered this story. This is actually a pretty old idea I had —though not quite as old as some of the others, really— that I actually had sitting in my docs/gmail drafts. And since I needed a distraction for the ridiculous migraine I had, I decided to dig through my docs for the original story notes and chapters I had.

Upon realizing that I could —probably— actually work with it, I decided to rewrite the entire story, though I will still keep to the general ideas I'd noted for this series. (I have about 9-10 'main' arcs for this story, like, no lie. And that's not even considering another potential two arcs that occur. So basically 12 or so arcs, and all before Boruto was even a spark in Kishimoto-san's eye, let alone Naruto becoming hokage…)

A note of warning, though: As you can probably surmise from the tags (and the story so far), this story does have OCs in it. Two of which will be main players —one Uzumaki Kizuna; who is technically, basically an older, if earlier conceived Naruko, which isn't exactly something I think the two would name their kid. I feel like they would be a bit more creative and name whatever son they have Naruto, and their daughter something else...hence Kizuna. I think I read a story somewhere where they used it as their female Naruto's name, which I actually really liked. Especially since it means 'bonds' and sounds suitable close if different to "Kushina" that I can see Minato, the dork, coming up with it. And Kagami Hoshika, who isn't quite but may still technically count as an SI due to her 'supposedly useless' Kekkei Genkai, considering that there are a few major factors that don't match, meaning most of it is useless, even if she doesn't what part of it is. (She rightfully, and logically, assumes that people would think she was just crazy if she just up and started talking about potential futures and alternate worlds, after all.)

Also, IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR THIS AU: This story is _already canon divergent_ , starting from (around) Kannabi Bridge, since that's around when Itachi and Naruko/Kizuna were born. There are a few other things, but that's kind of spoilers. You'll see when we get to it though. Oh, yeah, this starts pre-Kyuubi/Main Canon timeline, as well. (Sasuke, Naruto, and the rest of Rookie nine and their generation haven't even been born yet, after all.)

Anyways, Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto, only some artistic license and the idea for this fic. (Like, seriously, this whole thing was inspired by one really loopy and kind of weird dream I had a long time ago, also when I started plotting this AU because the pitspawned plunnies wouldn't go away and continued to multiply like fucking rabbits. Pun intended.)

This story was entirely inspired by a really, really weird dream I had one day (night?), though all I can remember of it now was Team 7 and the other rookies trying to escape some enemies, somehow ending up at the airport where Fugaku was head of security, Itachi and Naruko/Kizuna sending the kids to find their old teammate who'd retired young so she could buy a plot of land and live a secluded and self-sufficient life using her ninja skills to sort-of-cheat and farm. There was more, but I can't really remember the details, honestly.

Finally, I apologize if there are any mistakes when this is posted. I do have a tendency to revise before/when I post new chapters, so there's that, at least. That's really —literally— probably the longest note this series will have, so apologies for the wall of text, and rest assured that this amount of exposition is very, very unlikely to happen again.

* * *

End of Chapter Summary/Notation: _It's a typical day in the Village of Konohagakure. The Sun is Shining, The Ninja are being typical Ninja, The Students are Studying Diligently in School, and the Hokage's pregnant wife is threatening her husband with bloody murd—er, wait, what?_


	2. A Choice is Made (Arc 0, Part II)

**Author's Note** : Second of Two up-to-date chapters on AO3. Pretty much copy pasta'd, certain edits/formatting for FF aside.

I...should really be sleeping... (Or at least trying to fix my sleep schedule, anyway.)

There were (quite) a few bumps in the road getting this done. RL restrictions for one, and motivation (or exhaustion) for another. But I finally got this out, and haven't even used up a whole chapter's worth of plot (from the original, rather cringe-worthy writing attempts, anyway).

This is...turning out to be surprisingly slow, story-wise.

I'm surprised, to be honest. But that's neither here nor there, more importantly…

As you've probably guessed from the last one, there's gonna be quite a bit of canon divergence —Rin, for one. She's not dead...yet, at least. There's a reason for that, too, considering, but I'll explain it all at the end of the chapter, where it won't take up so much space/patience for those itching to read the new chapter.

Usual Disclaimers —and certain warnings— apply.

Previously: _It's a typical day in the hidden village of Konoha. The sun's shining, ninja are ninja-ing (if that's even a verb), the students are studying —sort of— diligently in the Academy, and the Hokage's pregnant wife has threatened her husband with bloody murd—er, wait,_ what?

* * *

 **Chapter 02: A Choice is Made  
** aka: Arc 0 — Setting the Story, Part II (or: Title? What Title? ...Is it something I can eat? 0v0;;; )

* * *

If anyone wanted to find any of the —not quite— infamous trio (as they'd been jokingly dubbed by the members of the populace that knew them), there were usually only a set number of places one had to check. And if they weren't there, then they'd be there eventually.

The Uzumaki-Namikaze homes (as Hokage, Minato _did_ technically have an estate of his own, but Kushina had flat out refused to move out of her comfortable two-bedroom, single den, two-bathroom flat as long it was big enough to still fit everyone; so now they had two homes, the 'Uzumaki' flat, and the 'Namikaze' Estate), the Uchiha District (either along the main road, or the Itachi's house), along the main road leading to the Hokage Tower (on the occasions they decided to either just walk around, or check out one of the shops that lined the street) —or most probably, a certain Ramen Stand on the very aforementioned street.

Of course, that was assuming one didn't have the skill to sense the rather distinguishable mini supernova that the Uzumaki mother and daughter both shared, considering how much chakra they had. Itachi had a tendency to mute, if not snuff out his own signature, and Hoshika had a tendency to spread hers out, partially as an exercise, and partially to blend into the crowd, since she tended to lean more towards the introverted side of the scale than even Itachi.

Though she supposed it could technically be balanced out by just how far up the extrovert scale that _Kizuna_ lay. A bright, midday sun compared to the moon and star that they were. (Itachi, of course, being the moon, while Hoshika liked to think —even if it was technically a play on part of her name— that she was one of the many stars that adorned the night sky. Only partially distinguishable from the rest, if only one really _looked_. Kizuna had laughed, when she'd mentioned it once, but even Itachi had found it relatively apt, considering their personalities. The boy would happily let Kizuna take the center stage if it meant more peace and calm for him, the chaotic crazy that was Kizuna aside.)

In any case, it was at a Ramen Stand —Ichiraku Ramen, to be specific— that Kushina and Mikoto would find the trio, the pregnant women chuckling at the familiar sight with only mild exasperation as they made their way in. Kushina had long since given up on finding her coward of a husband. And feeling somewhat hungry —and a bit tired— she'd gone to find her own best friend, Uchiha Mikoto. The Uchiha Matriarch had just been getting bored as well, being on pregnancy leave (again), so the two had decided to waste some time together, just catching up in general, gossiping, and then simply chattering as they rested their feet.

Neither was particularly showing at the moment, though they were still being careful. Mikoto especially, since she had gotten pregnant (ironically) just a few weeks before Kushina. (Though only in the privacy of Mikoto's home, considering that Minato was so feared in certain countries, that it was too dangerous for Kushina to reveal her pregnancy to anyone but those closest and most trusted by the two soon-to-be —once again— parents. Not even Kizuna knew yet, though they'd have to break the news to her, soon. Especially once the redhead started showing.)

Yet again, it seemed that Mikoto's child would be older than her friend's youngest. Something that both women had mused over. Or rather, Kushina had complained a bit, saying that it wasn't fair, but had been too happy about the two of them getting pregnant so close to each other. As expected of best friends, she'd joked, though they'd both prayed to have different gendered children, this time.

A son for Kushina, and a daughter for Mikoto to dress up and play with. Kizuna was cute and all, but she was also rather rambunctious, and both mothers knew better than to try to dress her up in anything fancy on a good day.

A pity, but if Mikoto managed to have her own daughter, then she'd be overjoyed.

Of course, she'd love her child either way, regardless of gender. But could one really blame her for a bit of wishful thinking?

Either way, as the two women spotted their children (along with said children's best friends), they found themselves smiling again, taking the pair of empty seats closest to the trio.

"Figures you guys would be here," Kushina teased, grinning down at the kids. (Seriously, though, she might only have chattered about it with Mikoto for a short time, considering how long she'd been there to cool down from her hormone induced raging, but if Minato didn't group these three together when they graduated they were going to have _words_. Mikoto had even agreed, promising to back her up if anyone —even her husband— said anything, or tried to disagree. They got along too well to split them into groups with genin that wouldn't see them for anything but what they were, rather than _who_ they were.)

Kizuna, still busy all but inhaling her bowl of ramen, just waved. Letting the others greet her mother and godmother-slash-aunt, first.

"Okaa-sama, Kushina-baa-sama," Itachi greeted, setting down his chopsticks for a moment to politely incline his head to the two women, Kizuna slurping up the last of the noodles still dangling from her mouth so that she could speak as well.

"Kaa-chan! Miko-baa-chan!" Kizuna grinned, "Did you come for dinner, too?" She asked. Beside her, Hoshika nodded, giving a slight bow from her seat as she, too, greeted the two women that had, for whatever reason, decided that they, too, had taken a 'shine' to her when they'd first met.

"Kushina-san, Mikoto-san," she smiled, long since having gotten used to being told to discard the '-sama', along with the last names, since there were many Uchiha, and Kushina simply didn't care for such mannerisms anyway.

As far as Kushina was concerned, any friend of her daughter's, was pretty much an adoptive child of hers, anyway. (Similar to Minato's team….even if one was now longer with them anymore.) Hoshika, though somewhat confused by this seemingly strange thought process, hadn't really minded too much. It wasn't like she had any memories of her real parents, anyway, and the two women had pretty much treated her as a surrogate daughter from the start. Kushina outright declaring that they didn't need to be blood-related to care, and take care of, her.

Mikoto had simply smiled and agreed, far calmer compared to her more energetic friend. Both of the women kind and caring without pushing on what boundaries she had. Never failing to make her feel warm and welcomed, and keeping her included when they could. Even if it'd been a bit awkward for her when they'd started 'mothering' her at first.

(Kizuna had simply snickered and told her it was too late to do anything but suck it up and accept, a somewhat more rueful and chagrined Itachi nodding in agreement. If there was one thing their mothers shared, after all, it was how very determined and willful they could be. Once they'd decided on something, well… there was very, very little chance in changing their minds again outside of extenuating circumstances.)

(Hoshika had been touched, though she hadn't said as much. She was used to having to be independent, but it was...kind of...nice? She supposed, being treated as one of the family for the most part. Awkward at times, but definitely nice.)

"It's good to see you again," she continued, a half-eaten bowl of pork miso sitting in front of her. She hadn't sensed the two despite her practice in trying to keep her senses attuned around her, the very dilution of her chakra, though not a perfect cover of invisibility, typically letting her remain all but visible to others unless she wished it.

Then again, perhaps it was to be expected from the two Jounin-ranked women. Not even mentioning that Hoshika still hadn't gotten herself conditioned to automatically register and take note of the chakra around her just yet.

Not without conscious thought, anyway. The dilution was one thing, since it was all but second nature to her now, but actively sensing and cataloguing was a bit more difficult. She wasn't quite as chakra sensitive as Itachi, after all, though she did practice when she could.

(Maybe she'd have to ask for a tip on that, though. Some scrolls on beginner's iryojutsu would probably be good too, though they didn't actually have clearance for those just yet. Not unless they were available to their clan and/or within their family libraries, anyways. But not only would it be remiss of her to even ask about such things, but it would also be downright rude and disrespectful if she did so. Clans were rather strict and secretive about whatever library of texts they had, after all. So it was probably better not to.)

"Ita-chan, Hoshika-chan, Kizuna-chan," Mikoto greeted the trio, "Good evening," far calmer than her best friend, who could be loud and boisterous even at the best of times.

"Heya, brats~!" Said woman teased, even as two bowls of ramen were set before the two adults. "Oh, thanks Teuchi-kun!" she grinned, nodding to the young man that ran the amazing ramen stand along with his aging father. "How's business?"

Teuchi just grinned in response. "Great since your family started coming," he half-joked, taking away the stack of empty bowls in from of Kizuna before replacing her currently emptied bowl with pork ramen even as he continued speaking to the women. "An order of Miso and Seafood to start of, as usual, right?"

The two nodded, making assenting noises before thanking the man.

"Thank you, Teuchi-san," polite as ever, Mikoto smiled while her best friend whooped, cheering in a very similar manner to her daughter.

"Thanks, Teuchi-jii-chan!" the girl grinned, nearly a small mirror of her mother as the two Uzumaki females dug in, the rest simply returning —or starting— their meals at a more peaceful, leisurely pace. They preferred to savour their food rather than inhale it, after all.

How the members of the Namikaze-Uzumaki home could even taste their ramen at the pace they consumed the supposedly 'godly food', no one was quite sure. But apparently they could, and could still tell the difference between ramen's even without a person saying anything.

Weirdo's. Good weirdo's, but still.

Teuchi just chuckled, returning to his place at the back to start washing dishes whilst his father continued to make the ramen.

* * *

By the time Minato had finished his paperwork, he'd been exhausted. Kakashi had been dismissed for the day, and Rin had long since returned for her shift at the hospital after she'd checked up on his wife. Stopping by only to let him know that she seemed to have calmed again, and that she had gone over to the Uchiha compound rather than demolishing a training field (again).

And now, it was dusk. Though the group was still at the usual ramen stand, the blonde was too tired to even register the familiar chakra presences. Most of the group were simply chatting whilst the two lighter haired females had just about eaten their fills, occasionally inserting their own conjectures and exclamations to the chattering brunettes.

"A Miso-Pork Ramen, please," the tired blonde ordered as soon as he walked in, taking the only empty seat at the bar beside Itachi, next to whom sat his daughter, her other friend, and the two adult women.

"One Miso-Pork Ramen, coming right up!" Ichiraku Sr. called out, ensuring the blonde knew that his order had been heard. The rest of the customers at the bar falling silent, as if waiting for something to happen.

When it was clear that Minato hadn't noticed or acknowledge him, however, Kushina finally broke the silence. Needless to say, she'd made the tuckered out Military Leader jump from where he'd slumped against the (thankfully clean) counter.

"Ohhh, _Mi-na-to, dearest~_ " she started, smiling a nearly saccharine sweet smile, though she did take pity seeing the other so exhausted. Especially when he gave a yelp and flailed, clearly caught off guard and too tired to even be able to properly catch himself as he tumbled off his seat and onto the floor.

"O-Ow, Ow…! K-Kushina, sweetheart, what, uh, what are you doing here?" he asked, clearly nervous at her previous tone as he jumped back up, dusting himself off before reaching up to the tender spot on his poor head. Only to wince as he decided it'd be better not to to touch the painfully aching area as he righted his stool, sitting down more cautiously this time.

"Why, eating ramen, of course," she responded, tone blithe as she raised a brow at his antics. Seeing that she didn't seem (too) upset, Minato gave her a hopeful, nearly puppy like look. Maybe she'd forgotten about the morning's incident…?

"Oh, don't you think I forgot, Mi-na-to, dar-ling~" She hissed, temper flaring at the reminder before she narrowed her eyes, watching the blonde wilt like lettuce in the heat, before deciding to take pity. "However," she started, a sweet, _sweet_ smile on her face as she turned away from the adorable (ridiculously so, _stupid pretty boy bastard_ ) look of dejection on his face, trying not to _really_ smile when it quickly turned into a far more hopeful and almost… _sparkling_...look.

(Ridiculous man-boy, she thought, affection warming her from the inside even as she did her best not to show it.)

"I do believe I can forgive you if you cover the bill for dinner tonight," she smiled, a(n almost evil) mischievous light in her eye as her husband brightened and nodded rapidly, too relieved to think the conditions through.

"Of course!" He smiled, clearly forgetting how much even a single member of his little family could put away, let alone a pregnant Kushina (no doubt their little sucker would end up being a ramen addict, too, at this rate).

"Great!" she beamed, moving to kiss her husband's cheek before motioning for Mikoto and the kids to go ahead and get up, "You can pay for all of us and meet us back home when you're done here," she decided. "Me'n Mikoto are gonna take the kids home, now," she told him, a hand on Hoshika's head along with a wink warning the child not to speak up or protest.

"Bye, daddy~!" Kizuna beamed, waving at her father as they shuffled out, "see you when you get home!"

"Good night, Hokage-sama," Itachi bowed, polite as ever, whilst Mikoto gave him a sympathetic look, taking her son's hand as they, too, turned to exit the stand.

"Good Night, Yondaime-sama," Hoshika bowed as well, nodding her own thanks, before following the others out. It was still awkward, but this did mean that she and the other two could go out again soon. Kushina taking Kizuna's hand cheerfully, before waiting to take Hoshika's between herself and Mikoto as they left the poor blonde to deal with the bill when he finally left.

The poor, poor man.

(Still, worth it as far as Minato was concerned, seeing how scary his wife could be. Didn't mean he loved her any less, though. Ironically, perhaps it made him adore her even more? ….Sensei would have called him crazy, before laughing and slapping him on the back a few times, giving a thumbs up for winning the love lottery, considering how beautiful his wife and child were.)

* * *

"Is it really okay to just leave Yondaime-sama to foot the entire bill?" Hoshika asked after a while, the trio of children and their mothers (well, two of them, anyways, considering the last's was long dead) walking leisurely in the cool evening air of the village.

Kushina just waved it off with a shrug, since both hands were occupied with a girl each, "Oh, Minato can handle it. Not like it'll make too much of a dent, considering he's the Hokage," she mused.

Kizuna just stifled a snicker, Mikoto shaking her head over her friend's antics with mild exasperation. "Really, Kushina-chan."

The red-head was just absolutely incorrigible, sometimes.

Hoshika thought about it for a moment before deciding to shrug it off. If they said so, she mused, exchanging a glance with Itachi on Mikoto's other side.

Adults.

"If you're sure then, Kushina-san. In any case, thank you for walking me home, as well," she mused, slipping her hands out of the Uzumaki's and the Uchiha Matriarch's once they reached her apartment complex. Being the only single child, the adults tended to drop her off first if they could, before going home. Worried about the fact that a lone girl, no matter how mature she could be, would be walking home alone and in the dark. No matter how safe the town was.

Stepping away from the group, she gave a polite bow of thanks, only for the women to wave her off.

"It's fine, Hoshi-chan. Just think of it as us doing it so we can feel better about not leaving you to make the trip alone," Kushina grinned, her daughter giggling beside her despite how sleepy and full she was starting to feel.

"Besides," Mikoto added, "we'll be more assured if we can make sure you got home safely, ne?"

"So really, it's more for us than you," Kushina told her, only half-joking. True, it could be looked at that way, but really was reassuring to be able to ensure with their own eyes that she'd gotten home safe. Kushina and Minato had both lived on their own, being orphaned prior to attending Konoha's Ninja Academy, so they were used to living alone.

Kushina had gotten some special treatment, being the equivalent of a Princess from Whirlpool, after all. Hence why she'd gotten such a nice apartment upon arriving (it was, in fact, the very flat she continued to live in to this day). And Minato, while having lived in more normal conditions, was had also lived on his own in an Academy-assigned apartment, so it wasn't like he didn't know what the child had to deal with.

Bleeding Heart that he was, he'd already made several reforms for the sake of the children, and was still drafting legislations for more. Not just for orphans, either. Minato took his job very seriously, after all. He did have the fate of the entire village in his hands, in the end.

"Yeah!" Kizuna cut in, of the same mind as her mother, though more importantly, "And it means we get to hang out longer, too!" she pointed out. Itachi nodding in agreement. It was...nice...to be able to spend so much time around people his age, ones that didn't have any expectations out of him aside from being a 'friend'.

Kizuna and Hoshika both accepted him for who he was, rather than his title and apparent 'genius' level intelligence. They did have any expectations of himself that he wasn't willing to give, and even helped him relax from an otherwise stressful atmosphere that no doubt would have long since swallowed him, otherwise. So it was...nice...oddity aside, though Itachi didn't think he was exactly the best at reading and/or interacting with other people, so that made them even in that regard, he supposed.

As it was Hoshika just sighed, lips twitching into a grateful smile. "I guess all I can say that is...Good Night?" she mused, nodding politely to everyone, "I'll see you guys tomorrow, Kizuna, Itachi. Be safe," she added, bowing her thanks to the two women, since they didn't protest that much, at least.

"Night Hoshika!" Cheery as always, Kizuna grinned, waving energetically now that she was more awake.

"Good Night," Itachi nodded, soon followed by echoed goodbye's and well wishes as the brunette watched the others leave.

* * *

Watching them go with a wave, she waited until they were completely out of sight before turning back to head into the apartment. Her flat was on the second floor, and though large, considering her size and age, she still found it the spaciousness nice, if somewhat lonely at times.

It'd probably be better with some more furniture —a couch or sofa and maybe a coffee table or kotatsu, if she could— but since she doubted she'd used it anyways, she didn't really bother. She might have to soon, if Kizuna and Itachi ever planned on actually _visiting_ , though.

(She was also, rightly, worried that her friend's mothers might end up trying to push some on her without warning. But that was a matter for another time.)

Of course, she did still have the funds that she'd inherited from her parents after their demise, but it wasn't as if she could really touch most of it yet, anyways. (Not until she was a legal adult...or a genin, at least.) Which was another reason why she'd applied for the Academy. Orphaned Academy student grants aside.

She got enough of an allowance to get by, as long as she stuck to a budget, though she did save as much as she could for later.

She had no plans to rely on the orphan funds forever, after all. Not that she could even if she wanted to. You only got so much to get by and to support yourself on, typically long enough to find a job or join the Academy (as most were wont to).

Besides, she was self sufficient enough, or at least, knew enough to get by on her own, considering the information her otherwise useless kekkei genkai gave her. Thankfully only while she was asleep or in dreams or else she would have gone mad before she could even sign up for the Academy.

(She didn't really want to think about what would have happened, then. There wasn't exactly a 'special services' for kids with mental issues, and only those that could hide it long well enough to be overlooked tended to last long.)

Thankfully, it seemed whatever the hell her bloodline was also gave the perk of faster mental maturation so the brain could handle all the information. She didn't know what a Yamanaka would see if they jumped into her head, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be 'normal' at the very least. She'd yet to try going into her own mindscape, but she was pretty sure it'd be confusing, even to herself unless there was something her blood limit did for that too.

As it was, most of the 'dreams' she saw were either redundant or beyond strange, either way.

If she were to use references from one of her dreams… it would be something similar to some animated character called "Byakuran" in the most technologically advanced worlds she saw. Something about being able to look into other worlds in your dreams, though she didn't need a medium and simply falling asleep would trigger it.

Though she'd tried controlling it, the stupid thing either didn't allow for it, or that was simply how it worked. (She'd even tried directing the dreams to things and people she knew, or at least knew of —say, her parents— but it never worked, disappointingly enough.)

Which was ridiculous considering how much useless information and dream-memories she now had. Because of that, she also tended to treasure that few, actual, real dreams she had. (She could always tell between the 'dreams' and 'alternate world visions' so to speak.)

She really didn't need to know about the life of some random kid she'd never met, after all. Though it did sometimes color her perception of people that she had met in real life, she did manage to keep them separated. The people in those dreams of other worlds weren't _her_ people, or her village after all. No matter how similar they might look.

(Thank the Kami she could tell the difference, though, or she'd have made a mistake years ago. Still, she was only human, and having dreams of people she'd yet to meet, well… there was a reason she kept away from certain people she could see...and why she preferred to keep away from people, period.)

Still, dreaming of someone else's life —hers or not, it didn't matter. Dreams of her other selves were always the worst, because they came with the feelings and perceptions of that other self, too— was not what she wanted to view.

She didn't want to know that the Itachi she knew could very well end up sacrificing himself, all for some stupid greater good. Especially when it meant hurting himself by hurting his family and those he cared for so much.

She didn't want to know a world where Kushina-san no longer existed, where _Kizuna_ didn't exist, period.

One where Mikoto-san, Yondaime-sama, and the few people she knew and cared for were either dead or simply didn't exist…

That wasn't a world she ever wanted to see.

Unfortunately, though, she still hadn't quite figured out the triggers for the all-but-nightmares she'd seen.

Of course, the weirdest part, was probably the languages and technologies, other fictional or impossible worlds that would leave with information that would probably never be of use to her in her head.

(A language no one in the Elemental nations seemed to speak? Useless. Especially since she didn't intend to join either of the branches that had to do with ciphers or information. The language wouldn't exactly be easy to each either, considering that there were so many exceptions and so many stupid rules. It was ridiculous!)

Still, if it meant that she matured faster than the average child her age, then...well, at the very least, she could say that she _did_ at least have friends who understood. Who knew and could accept her as was. (She was pretty sure a majority of the people she was close to and/or knew were either highly intelligent or geniuses in their own right...which was really weird, now that she thought about it.)

At least she had been able to absorb and learn quickly. Whether it was thanks to whatever the heck her kekkei genkai was (she was pretty sure whatever she had was the mutated version of whatever one of her parents may have had, because while no one had been surprised at her rapid growth after seeing her health records —apparently— no one had mentioned anything about 'visions' or seeing into other worlds either. Which was something you'd think they'd mention), she didn't know.

But then, she didn't know if the laws of physics and/or biology fit into some of the worlds she'd seen. Worlds where chakra didn't seem to exist, but other, fantastically impossible things did. Strange vehicles made of metal and were steered by people (cars, her mind told her). Large metal winged things —called planes, apparently— that could fly one across the continent. Vast oceans and villages (cities) of multi-story buildings that almost all looked the same.

But she was digressing. The point of the matter was that her kekkei genkai was weird, and mostly useless aside from —rather ironically— the side effects that had come along with ensuring that the body could handle it.

She typically kept those memories of other worlds locked behind secure lock and key in her mind, but that didn't mean they didn't still escape sometimes. And the very memories had also shaped her very personality as she'd grown, since the more vivid ones were hard to tell from reality at times. At least until she woke up, anyway. Then the certainty of knowing that it had been 'another dream' meant going through the process of doing her best to forget (a futile effort, as she'd come to learn), or to lock it away where it wouldn't bother her day to day life.

Either way, when she'd begun to 'dream' things had been beyond confusing. Especially as, when they'd first started, considering the headaches they'd caused. Sharp pains at first, until her brain had apparently developed enough to accommodate the influx of information to assimilate. It had been enough to alarm the caretakers when a very young, and very disoriented, little girl began to cry from the... _growing pains_...so to speak. (She'd been to the clinic for enough check-ups, that she was thoroughly sick of it, and was determined to —secretly, because it'd be even more difficult to retire if she didn't do so— learn iryo-jutsu. If only to avoid having to go _back_ to one of those stupid _waiting rooms_.)

(Children —and adults, alike— could be right horrors when they were suitably panicked over this or that reason. Especially when the nurse or whoever it was stuck on secretarial duty at the front desk simply told them to take a number, when they deemed it to be something either unimportant or not enough of an emergency to warrant being rushed to the ER wing _right then in that moment_.)

Needless to say, she'd been in and out of the pediatrics ward —and with at least vague memory of it considering the fact that she'd been in too much pain to really pay attention aside from _wanting some people to shut up so they didn't make her kami damned headache worse_ (she had still been confused by the snapshots of very different _lives_ filtering into her head, okay, even as young as she had been)— to remember most of the details of her medical records.

Especially since they'd noted the oddity of her slightly more rapid growth to accommodate her ridiculous growth rate —brain wise, at least— even considering the already rapid growth rates (as she would later realize, upon connecting certain dots and finding out that, no, it was not normal in the non-shinobi worlds for 'normal' three year olds to be able to talk almost fluently despite some lisps in those with slower bodily growth rate) of children in their world.

They'd ended up digging into her records —and also her parents after the blood test to match them and/or based off the records then. She didn't quite remember, just that they _had_ managed to dig them up— to find that it was normal for those in her family to end up as she had, thanks to their sort-of kekkei genkai. If not as severe as hers had been.

As it was, they couldn't do much anyways, aside from telling them to bring her in if it got too bad, since pediatric prescriptions had to be very precise or run the risk of causing worse damage to such young bodies, and there was a limit to how much they could do with chakra and iryo-jutsu, as well.

(There may have been something about nerves and possible complications if they didn't handle it well, and the brain was delicate enough as it was.)

Realizing that she'd gotten distracted again, Hoshika decided to finish making preparations for bed and just call it a night.

She could always just read —and/or study, depending on the title— and practice a bit more in the morning, when she woke up, to make up for it, anyway...

* * *

Hoshika was a selfish person. She realized it, but unlike some, accepted it as part of her.

Being aware just meant she could see how it affected her and act (or react, as the case may be), accordingly.

So if her previous dream —goal, whatever— ended up changing, expanding, to fit the presence and happiness of those that had come to become oh so very important to her…

Well, that was her prerogative.

And no one else's.

(That didn't mean her dream/goal had changed, though. She still planned to pretty much become as self-sufficient a hermit as she could. It was just that she maybe —possibly, _sort of_ — might not mind certain people visiting, if not sticking around in her life, rather than totally isolating herself from the world as originally planned…)

* * *

 **Ending Notes** : Heads up on a Wall of Text. (Mostly background/timeline explanations for what/why certain things happen, or have/haven't happened, in this story.) You can continue without it though, if you want. It'll just be here for anyone interested. (Copy Pasta'd from AO3 End Notes from here.)

As promised. Timeline/Explanation Time.

Alive!Rin because based on AWSB/RoF-Verse timeline/alterations, Kannabi would've happened about four —nearly five— years ago. At which point Kushina, thanks only partly to the existence of Kizuna (currently a little over four and a half, nearly five years old), would be out of the field. (The other part's Kurama, of course.)

The war doesn't end til a little after above mentioned incident, so Minato's not pres— I mean, Hokage, yet. Minato and Kushina are married, though. Or have been. (There's no official age where they finally got together, or when they married, as far as I'm aware, so taking advantage of that for plot, here.)

Either way, since they've been married since before Kannabi, is it so surprising that Kushina would —surprise, surprise— end up pregnant? Likely, it wouldn't be realized that Kushina is pregnant until she starts getting morning sickness (conveniently not until after Kannabi), anyway.

Now, I did some research. I'm not a mom (unless you count two very fluffy cats), and I most definitely haven't given birth, so I can only really rely on internet for research. Apologies if I make any mistakes.

In any case, according to internet: First time vs second or multiple childbirth-wise: 9, plus/minus a few weeks, months is the average. Depending on the mother and child's condition. For first timer's, it's not odd for complications to arise. Not to mention, that it's possible for the first to be closer to 10 months, or less than 8 (though that'd count as a premie) due to complications (not even counting whether a certain fuzzball's existence).

So, Kannabi Bridge. Pretty much canon (not gonna expand, cuz character limit), Minato is crowned —or inaugurated, I guess— Hokage soon after. Kushina finds out she's pregnant, and later Minato does, too (Cue simultaneously ecstatic and panicked response. He's gonna be a daddy! ...on the other hand, oh dear kami, he's going to be a daddy.)

Orochi defects as per canon, and all that aside, cue the starting divergences.

Unlike —but similar to— Naruto, only a few people are told, at least until their baby is actually, and safely, born.

(Either to be named Naruto or Kizuna —though we already know which it ends up being. Jiraiya's either not written his novel, or Minato and Kushina decided to wait until 1. he comes back to share the news, or 2., only decide to tell him they might be naming their kid after his book protagonist if it's a boy...which she's not.)

And just so you know, I haven't actually finished the series. Most of this is based off what I've seen —up to or just past when they actually become a cohesive team alongside Sai and/or see Sasuke again; read —some point during the final war, where Naruto just figured out the golden magatama-y Kurama Cloak; or researched a la wiki —pretty much everything else.

But anyway, during the time when Rin was supposed to get kidnapped and turned into a walking bijuu time bomb, she's...not actually out on the field. Why? Because, well, who better to watch over your pregnant wife than your student who actually studied Iryo-jutsu, is in the know, and who —alongside Minato's other grieving student— is still in the midsts of getting over their teammate's death?

Plot holes? Probably plenty, but as far as I'm aware, Rin actually studied and was proficient enough (and probably did shifts in the hospital on top of that) to be able to help with Kushina's healthcare. (Sarutobi's wife Biwako, aside, since it was one of those situations where the less who knew, the better for everyone involved.)

And of course, regardless of if it's favoritism or not, it's a legitimate reason, and while he's at it, let's have Kakashi guard his pregnant wife, because who else in the know could do a better job? (And who won't piss his wife off, if he tries to make perverted jokes or passes at her —hint hint, not that said person was likely to even be in the village at the time to begin with, congratulations aside if he had been when it was found out.)

Especially since Minato still kind of needs to occasionally go out into the field, or else is drowning in paperwork that he, himself, has to sign. (At least Mikoto and Kushina can both commiserate over pregnancy hormones and such together, considering Mikoto's son is born about a month earlier, and would also explain why Mikoto, as a Jounin, wasn't one of the ones out there, either.)

* * *

End of Chapter Summary/Notation: _With classes over with, and their usual after-school group training done for the day, the all-but-official team finds themselves at a certain stand. Kushina, meanwhile, calmed —or at least calmer, now— decides to find her best friend to unwind a bit...as well as to share some news._

 _Minato, meanwhile… well, powerful and a genius as he might be, it's still quite obvious that, despite his best efforts, his wife and child really do have him wrapped around their little fingers._


End file.
